Introduction

I must be one of the luckiest runners in Ireland. I got in through the ballot twice once for the Dublin Marathon 2026 and once for the Dublin City Half Marathon 2026. I have clearly used all my lotto fortune on marathons. It looks like I won’t win the cash machine, renovate my living room and quietly sit in the revelry of money won being a lot sweeter than money earned. Of course the eagle eye running regulars amongst you will know that the ballots I’m referring too are an offer of a place in a race which I then have to pay for, train for and then run to the finish line to collect the finisher shirt I paid for in the first place. Anyway parking that thought and returning to positivity, the Dublin City Half Marathon was worth it. I’d do it again without hesitation.

My Race

The atmosphere was alive and amplified more than any half marathon running event I have ever been fortunate to run. I ran in the Barcelona Half Marathon in 2017 and that day was off the chain with excitement. I smashed a personal best in the Haag in 2018 but the Dublin City Half Marathon stepped up to the plate and immediately forced its way into the top half marathon events in Europe. Yes folks I am saying that Ireland has shed it’s Saipan funk and decided on the running stage that we’re not turning up to be an also ran we’re rapidly aiming to be the best around and if we keep churning out events like this Ireland will host the premier running events in Europe. Inch by inch this maybe sinch, Yard by yard this maybe very hard but I couldn’t help but feel the Dublin City Half Marathon was looking at very hard and saying ‘that will suit us down to the ground’.

I planned to run between 4:40 per km to 4:50 per km for the race. This is my new target marathon pace. I wasn’t training or planning to run a personal best in this event though as soon as I hit the finish line I wish I had. Even if I had been busting a gut to make a PB faith may still have had other ideas. I stopped to carry a participant about 200 meters from the finish line. I was struggling from 16 kilometres but I had been coming back in the last kilometre. Everyone has a tough patch in a race and I hung in there from 16 km then as I was getting ready a final burst about 200 meters out I seen a participant walking. Another participant cajoled him to keep going and for a few seconds he got going again. Most runners will offer encouragement as the finish line and glory loom large. Just as I was about a meter away from this participant he stopped again rather abruptly. I grabbed him before he fell and for about the next 90 seconds myself and another racer hauled him towards the line. The poor guy was completely spent and his legs were dragging along the road. He was a big man built like someone who lived in the gym. I called for help at this stage I just couldn’t keep carrying him. I swapped with someone else who got him over the line. I was devastated that this would be that guys memory of the Dublin City Half Marathon 2026. I finished with a gun time of 1:43:20 and a chip time of 1:40:51. I didn’t actually care about the time when I crossed the line I was more concerned about this poor lad who looked to be in a terrible state. Four medics came straight in and started administering first aid. As far as I know the lad was ok.

Signs

Some of the amusing signs I encountered on my run around Dublin

Do it for the Guinness later

Only hot girls run halves

I hope you finish twice today

Course

I would recommend the course for a personal best. The harder parts consisting of a climb up around Drumcondra come early in the race when your energy is high and I didn’t find the incline sapped my legs for too long. You might face a stiffer breeze coming down through Clontarf but I have it on good authority that for two years running now that hasn’t happened on race day. The race gods have clearly smiled on this half marathon and hopefully they will continue to do so for many years.

Conclusion

I have read a lot of the social discourse over the last four months of 2026 and that Irish view of this is the reason we can’t have nice things simply doesn’t stack up to scrutiny when I attend running events. Sure the DART was off again but I had a good chat about all things Sport with the Free Now taxi driver Gary on the way into the start line. In short, I would add this event to your running calendar and start training like you’re going to run a personal best because the Dublin City Half Marathon has now put a PB at eye level on a decent course. Run like hell and get the agony over with.